Seeking to build his credit and be all responsible and stuff, Matt got a secured credit card from Capital One. If you’re not familiar with the concept, that’s a type of credit card where the creditor is… well, you. You deposit, say, $500 with the credit card issuer, and that gives you a spending limit of $500 or a little more. A good repayment history with this card will help build or rebuild your credit when you’re not able to get another card. And when you have good enough credit to move on and shut down the card, you get that deposit back. In theory, anyway. [More]

Clarice is financially recovering from a divorce. Her husband handled all the finances, and it turns out that he had a card in her name but never paid off a $300 outstanding balance on it. Besides this card, she’s never had a credit card. Now she wants one and no one will give it to her, because of the outstanding derogatory item and lack of credit history. She’s tried applying for credit cards online, with her bank and with stores. She could get a co-sign from her father but “doesn’t want to wrap him up in all of this.” What can Clarice do? Well, the last thing she can try is to apply for a secured credit card. [More]